If the Human Mind was Freed of Thought Viruses

From: anon1fd0@nyx10.cs.du.edu (Name withheld by request)
Newsgroups: alt.memetics
Subject: If the Human Mind was Freed of Thought Viruses, wt. would Happen
Date: 17 Sep 1994 15:19:06 -0600
What would happen to a mind without memes? Could it function
at all?
Or would we think and see much more clearly?
Is there a complementary mindset or brain physiology or intelligence
level which fits with particular types of memes?
That is, if meme X propagates rapidly through society Q, and 80 percent
the society's members are infected, based on an intimate knowledge of
meme X, what can I know about the personality profiles or mindsets or
prevalent paradigms (helper memes?) of the 80 percent of society Q?
Thanks for your comments,
Yours,
Jon.

Subject: Re: If the Human Mind was Freed of Thought Viruses...
Date: Mon, 19 Sep 1994 18:35:21 GMT
Jon wonders:
> What would happen to a mind without memes? Could it function
>at all?
> Or would we think and see much more clearly?
A meme-free mind is a dead mind (or a zombie's mind perhaps).
But meme-free isn't quite the same as thought-virus free.
(although I must say my opinion on this subject changes every month or so)
When I'm in a cynical mood, I think JESUS had a virus-free mind. But he
was definitely not meme-free! Do you feel the difference?
> Is there a complementary mindset or brain physiology or intelligence
>level which fits with particular types of memes?
Most certainly. Think of maths-memes vs. racist joke-memes: you need a high
IQ for the former, a low IQ for the latter.
There may be also memes that 'prefer' a female brain physiology or a male
brain physiology, a child's brain etc.
> That is, if meme X propagates rapidly through society Q, and 80 percent
>the society's members are infected, based on an intimate knowledge of
>meme X, what can I know about the personality profiles or mindsets or
>prevalent paradigms (helper memes?) of the 80 percent of society Q?
I'd say they're f**king conformists!
For a serious answer, ask again in 5-10 years. These are the questions we'd
like to answer, but it's a long way to go.
++Marc